The fiery South Australia attack of Shaun Tait and Jason Gillespie loomed as the key in the Redbacks’ victory plans after their batsmen ensured a thrilling final day at Brisbane. Jason Borgas, Mark Cosgrove and Darren Lehmann helped South Australia build a lead of 185 at stumps as they searched for their first Pura Cup win of the season.Andy Bichel had the visitors in big trouble at 2 for 7 before Lehmann hammered 65 from 61 balls in his first match back from a hamstring injury. Borgas and Cosgrove each made half-centuries in a 109-run partnership but Cosgrove missed the chance for a century in each innings when he was out for 67.Borgas continued to add stability to the Redbacks’ fragile top order and batted for more than three hours to remain unbeaten on 68. The Bulls were without one of their bowlers as James Hopes had not returned to the field since straining his thigh late on the first day.Hopes did not bat as Queensland reached 409 and a 32-run advantage. Clinton Perren made 69 not out before Lehmann came on for an inspired spell. His 3 for 4 ended the home side’s chances of building a big lead and the match remained evenly poised after three days.
ScorecardThe West Indies presented their Group B match to Australia on a platter when they lost by the slim margin of 13 runs on Wednesday.Chasing Australia’s total of 251, West Indies were well on course to victory at 192 for 3 in the 35th over, before collapsing to 238 all out in 48 overs. At that stage, they required 60 runs off the last 15 overs with seven wickets in hand. But Gajanand Singh’s dismissal for 33, chipping a delivery to third man, triggered off a sensational collapse where West Indies lost six wickets for 25 runs in 58 balls.The last pair of Javon Searles and Rishi Bachan valiantly tried to turn things around, and brought the West Indies to within 14 runs of victory, but a run out sealed their fate.”It was a win we didn’t expect,” Brian MacFadyen, Australia’s coach, said. “With 15 overs to go they certainly had the upper hand which was pretty obvious. It was certainly very encouraging for us to fight back from that sort of position. We felt we’ve been solidly outplayed till that point,” he said.West Indies manager Jimmy Adams said his team paid a big price for some poor decisions in the middle.”We really put ourselves in a position to win. We batted well up to the first 33 overs,” he said, “and then after that we made some poor decisions and we paid a big price for it. I’d rather learn here than at any point in the future. The earlier they learn these lessons the better.”We batted ourselves into a very good position and then batted ourselves into a very bad position. It’s a learning curve for all these young men. One has to hope that they learn quickly,” he continued.”Having done the hard work earlier and brought the run rate under four, you would have said from the outside that would be normal batting. But again these are situations that these young men. They are new to this form of the game. They haven’t played much one day cricket. What we are gonna find out in the next couple of weeks is how quickly they learn,” he said.The defeat has put West Indies in a spot of difficulty: they now have to beat South Africa in their final group game on Friday to ensure a place in the quarter-finals.”We put ourselves in a position where we have a crunch game in two days time. We’ll have to pick ourselves up and make sure that we have everything working on that day. It will be a key game for both teams. It’s all to play for. It’s going to be a final for us,” said Adams.As for the Australians – who have two wins under their belts with a victory over South Africa and the West Indies – a quarter-final place is assured. They take on USA in their final match on Thursday.However the Australian coach said that his team had got a lot of work to do in all aspects of the game going into the next round.”We played pretty well throughout and looked like we were set like 270. Then to lose those wickets and be all out was disappointing. We knew the West Indies would be a good side and they proved that. We opened the door a little bit by not batting as well as we should have in our finish,” MacFadyen said.”We [have] still got wides and no-balls to worry about. All the teams are doing that but we don’t want to be leaders in that area. The umpires are applying strict rules as they should. Perhaps these boys haven’t had a lot of experience playing under those strict ICC conditions. Today the ball wasn’t swinging but both teams bowled lots of wides. Neither team could blame swing. It is an interesting one as to why it is happening,” he said.Australia, who won the toss and chose to bat, got off to a bad start when they lost Tom Cooper for a duck to the second ball of the innings. They did, however, recover through a solid knock of 77 off 110 balls from Usman Khawaja and reached 194 for 3 in the 40th over. However a series of poor shots, coupled with some good bowling by the West Indies, saw them crash to 251 all out in 47.5 overs.On an excellent batting pitch it was certainly not a total Australia could be content with, aptly proved when the West Indies started their run chase and the top-order once again started gathering runs at a hectic pace. But when the momentum appeared to swing their way, Singh, on 33, chipped the ball to third man where Ben Cutting made a good catch diving forward. In the following over, Jason Mohammed (57) fell lbw to David Warner and the floodgates were open.Four wickets fell in four overs and soon West Indies were 200 for 8. Narine’s run-out ended the match when the batsmen tried to steal an impossible second run.The umpires officiating in the match wore black arm bands as a mark of respect to Trevor Henry, a distinguished Irish international umpire who passed away at the age of 51. Henry was one of the umpires selected to officiate in this World Cup, but illness prevented him from participating.
Sourav Ganguly is all set to start a cricket academy in Kolkata. Press Trust of India reports that Ganguly has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect with Videocon International Limited, who will sponsor the Rs 1 crore venture.The Academy is to be called “Sourav Ganguly and Videocon School of Cricket”, and will be located on a five-acre plot in Salt Lake City provided by the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. While Videocon will provide the infrastructure, Ganguly will lead the team of experts who will run the show.”We shall spare no effort to ensure that a truly world-class cricket school comes up here,” said Ganguly. He indicated that while former Bengal players like Sanjay Das and his brother Snehashish Ganguly would be available in a teaching capacity, the chief coach would be someone with a good record in international cricket. “He may be a foreigner,” Ganguly said, “or a famous Indian cricketer.”Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, was present to mark the signing of the MoU. “We are happy,” he said, “at the spontaneity shown by the corporate house in supporting the project. Such an academy is needed to further improve the standard of cricket in Bengal.”
Helen Cohen Alon, the 45-year-old woman at the centre of the latest Shane Warne scandal, is set to be sued on charges of extortion.Gavin Varejes, an associate of Warne’s, has levelled the charges after Cohen Alon claimed she had been bombarded with telephone calls and lewd text messages, including the revelation that Warne “often told her he was lying next to his wife thinking naughty thoughts”.Warne, who is currently serving a 12-month ban for failing a drugs test, has received support from his Test captain, Steve Waugh, who blamed his "enemies in the media" for kicking him when he was down.”I don’t know the full story, I’m sure you guys [media] don’t know it either," said Waugh. “You’ve got to give the guy a fair chance and let him have his say and when he does that, respect what he says and then make a judgment from there. But I think a lot of people have made their judgment before they know the facts.”Waugh added he had sympathy for Warne and his family, after they had become embroiled in another controversy. “I am part of the cricket side and we have some loyalty to each other. He’s human, he makes mistakes and I think he pays for his pretty heavily. I certainly support Shane and his family.”It’s a tough time, a lot of people are sort of kicking the boot in right now and a lot of his enemies in the media are having a crack at him. As a team-mate I feel sorry for him and what’s happened, particularly his family.”
Somerset County Cricket Club have just announced that Championship opener at The County Ground against Yorkshire starting on May 8th has been nominated as the Golden Jubilee Match.Chief Executive Peter Anderson told me, “Somerset are putting a proposal to the Taunton Deane Borough Council Queen’s Golden Jubilee Committee that the match against the 2001 Champions Yorkshire should be the Jubilee Match.”The Chief continued, “To celebrate the Jubilee we are going to ask for nominations from clubs for people who have given their life to cricket on a continuos basis. We hope to have a silver medal designed by a local college to present during the course of the match.”The Jubilee match also coincides with the Somerset County Cricket Club Annual Church Service which will be held at St James’s Church on Sunday May 19th, before the Norwich Union League match against Yorkshire Phoenix.”We are hoping to get a famous ex cricketer to preach at the service in 2002,” Mr Anderdson said.
Dharamsala will host the World Twenty20 2016 match between India and Pakistan on March 19 while the tournament semi-finals will be played in Delhi and Mumbai, according to the fixtures released by the ICC on Friday. The men’s event will be played in two stages between March 8 and April 3, while the Women’s World Twenty20 is scheduled between March 15 and April 3.Chennai, which was in danger of being cut as a host city due to the disputed stands at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, has been allotted women’s matches.India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia are placed in Group 2 of the Super 10s stage while South Africa, England, West Indies and Sri Lanka are in Group 1. Two teams will join the Super 10s after the first stage of the tournament, to be held in Dharamsala and Nagpur between March 8 and 13.The eight teams competing in the first round have also been split into two groups. Bangladesh, Netherlands, Ireland and Oman have been slotted into Group A, while Group B comprises Zimbabwe, Scotland, Afghanistan and Hong Kong. The top team from Group A will join India, Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand in Group 2 of the Super 10s stage, while the top-placed team from Group B moves to Group 1.The opening match of the Super 10s stage will be played between India and New Zealand on March 15 in Nagpur. The hosts will then play Pakistan on March 19, the qualifying team in the group on March 23 in Bangalore and Australia in Mohali on March 27.The top two sides from each of the Super 10s groups will move into the semi-finals. The semi-finals of the men’s and women’s tournaments will be played in Delhi and Mumbai on March 30 and 31 respectively, with the finals in Kolkata on April 3. Pakistan, should they qualify, will play their semi-final in New Delhi regardless of whether they place first or second in their group; the other qualifier from their group will play the semi-final allotted to Mumbai.This will avoid a scenario where Pakistan play in Mumbai, where a local political party, the Shiv Sena, has for several years “banned” Pakistan matches in that city. The most recent protest was in October, when Shiv Sena held protests at the BCCI office in Mumbai over talks between the India and Pakistan boards for a proposed series. Following the protests, the ICC withdrew Aleem Dar from the last two ODIs of the South Africa series [the fifth match was held in Mumbai] and former Pakistan cricketers Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar, who were in India on commentary duty, also returned home early.Defending champions Sri Lanka will begin their campaign against the qualifying team on March 17 in Kolkata, before playing West Indies in Bangalore on March 20. Their matches against England and South Africa will be played in Delhi on March 26 and 28 respectively.The women’s tournament will kick off from March 15 with India taking on Bangladesh and New Zealand playing Sri Lanka. The 10 teams in the women’s competition have been split into two groups. Three-time champions Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Ireland are in Group A, while Group B features England, West Indies, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The top two teams from each group will progress to the semi-final stage.
Wolves are not in the best run of form at the moment, having lost three of their last five Premier League games.
Looking ahead to the next few weeks and months, it seems as though the Midlands club will also have to make do without one prominent figure for the time being.
What’s the news?
In a recent tweet from journalist John Percy, Nelson Semedo is set to be out of action for four to eight weeks after picking up a hamstring injury during Wolves’ recent 2-1 defeat against Arsenal.
Described as being a “big blow for Bruno Lage”, the journalist also added that the defender’s earliest return could be in April after the international break, following scans this week.
Having started 23 of the Old Gold’s 26 league games so far this season, it’s safe to say that the Portuguese defender has been a pivotal figure for the team, explaining why Percy thinks his absence will be a big setback for his manager.
In addition to his constant presence in the team, the 28-year-old has also shown with his performances how important he is for the club. WhoScored list him as the fifth-highest rated outfield player currently in Lage’s squad to has started more than two league games this season, with an overall rating of 6.8/10.
As a result of Semedo’s injury, Lage chose to play Ki-Jana Hoever in their previous league game against West Ham United, which they lost 1-0.
During the match at the London Stadium, the 20-year-old full-back lost possession of the ball 20 times and only won four of his 10 duels, ultimately earning himself an underwhelming overall match rating of 6.3/10 from SofaScore.
Taking into account how long the former Barcelona defender is going to be out of action, Hoever will need to improve his performances if he wants to stay in the team moving forward and show his manager that he has what it takes to fill in for his injured team-mate for the next few weeks.
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Lage and everyone at Molineux will undoubtedly be hoping that Semedo can make a speedy recovery and get back out on the pitch as soon as possible to help them try and secure European football for next season.
In other news – Fosun masterclass: £74k-p/w “weak link” has seen his value drop 40% after Wolves exit
Scorecard On a rain-affected day in which only 56 overs of play was possible, Barbados took control of their match against Guyana through centuries from left-hand batsmen Jason Haynes(111) and Ryan Hinds(101 not out). Resuming on 58 for 2, the pair kept the Guyanese bowlers at bay till the penultimate over of the day, when Haynes edged legspinner Leon Johnson to slip. They added 212 runs for the third wicket to leave Barbados in charge at 256 for 3 at stumps on the second day, a lead of 71. It was Haynes’ maiden first-class century, and contained 11 fours, while Hinds, who made 95 in the previous match against Windward Islands, capitalised on a dropped catch to reach his seventh century. Guyana used as many as eight bowlers but were unable to make much of an impact on a Kensington Oval track which was perfect for batting. Scorecard A solid batting performance gave Jamaica a 187-run first-innings lead and put them in charge of their game against Combined Campuses and Colleges. Former West Indies batsman Wavell Hinds top scored with 87 while Xavier Marshall contributed 69. Marshall, who started the day on 50, added 54 for the third wicket with nightwatchman Andre Russell(33). Fast bowler Jamal Nowell then removed both batsmen before Hinds and Brendan Nash were involved in a patient 85-run stand. However, the tail caved in meekly, with the last six wickets falling for 38, as Jamaica were bowled out for 286. Nowell was the highest wicket-taker with four, while left-arm spinner Kavesh Kantasingh picked up three, including that of Hinds. In reply, the visitors had reached 36 at stumps, losing the wicket of captain Shirley Clarke in the process. Scorecard Leeward Islands dismissed Windward Islands for 134 to gain a handy 67-run first-innings lead before their batsmen consolidated the advantage by reaching 179 for 5 at stumps. After being bowled out for a paltry 201 in the first innings, Leewards stormed back into the match with the help of former West Indies fast bowler Adam Sanford’s four wickets. Windwards lost their last six wickets for 41 runs to be bowled out at the stroke of lunch. Leewards’ captain Omari Banks led their batting with an unbeaten 51 to ensure they maintained the upper hand in the game. Montcin Hodge (21), Steve Liburd (24) and Javier Liburd (36) also chipped in with useful contributions.
Queensland have made two changes to their batting line-up ahead of their Pura Cup match against South Australia at Brisbane starting next Friday, promoting Ryan Broad and the uncapped Greg Moller. The team was humiliated by an innings and 45 runs in their game against Western Australia this week and now sit second-last on the Pura Cup table.Lachlan Stevens, the opener who averages 22 from his five games this season, has been dropped from the 12-man squad along with Grant Sullivan, the fast bowler who did not play the Western Australia match. Broad’s one-and-only outing in 2006-07 yielded scores of 1 and 2 but he was preferred to Stevens as an opening partner for Jimmy Maher for next week’s clash.Moller, 24, impressed the selectors with 120 and 97 for the Queensland Academy of Sport against the ACT last month. The season has got better and better for Moller, a right-hand batsman, after he missed the first four matches of Brisbane’s grade competition due to knee surgery. He will warm up for his potential first-class debut by playing alongside Shane Watson for Redlands in club cricket on Saturday.Pura Cup squad Jimmy Maher (capt), Ryan Broad, Shane Watson, Clinton Perren, Craig Philipson, James Hopes, Greg Moller, Chris Hartley (wk), Andy Bichel, Ashley Noffke, Daniel Doran, Nathan Rimmington.
A brief history compiled by Dr.Andrew Hignell (Hon. Statistician and Historian to Glamorgan CCC)Pontypridd entered the first-class cricket calendar in 1926, asGlamorgan`s officials tried to boost the club`s membership bytaking county cricket into the valley communities. YnysangharadPark still stages an annual fixture, either a championship gameor a one-day game. However, in 1994 the South African touristsvisited the ground, followed in 1996 by the Pakistanis. Thesegames came about as a result of generous sponsorship fromTaff-Ely Borough Council , and a lot of hard work by theofficials from Pontypridd C.C. However, as in the match with thePakistanis, it seems that every time county cricket ventures upthe Taff Valley to Pontypridd, the heavens open, and the gamesend in rain-affected draws.Cricket in Pontypridd dates back to 1858, and like many otherclubs in these industrial communities, its origin was the resultof the influx into the Valleys of English born and educatedmigrants. A few barriers existed to the development of the gamewith the shortage of suitable land and long hours of work at thebooming iron foundries and steelworks, and the earliest gameswere often just glorified practice sessions. Things had improvedby May 1870 when a formal club was established, and fixtures weregained with other recently formed teams from other valley towns.These games were initially staged in the grounds of GelliwastedHouse, before a move in 1873 to a more spacious area of farmlandowned by Gordon Lenox, the resident director of Brown Lenox, thetown’s largest ironworks.Over the years, there has been a very close link between BrownLenox and Pontypridd C.C. Gordon Lenox oversaw the laying of adecent wicket in one of the fields at Ynysangharad Farm (looselytranslated as Angharad`s Isle) alongside the River Taff. Thecompany, who manufactured anchors, chains and cables for theAdmiralty, also acted as generous philanthropists by giving thecricket club money to buy equipment and also kit, knowing thatmany of the club`s members were men of quite modest means. Giventhis help, the number of members increased and in 1897 Pontypriddwere able to enter the newly-formed Glamorgan Cricket League,playing fixtures with clubs from Treherbert, Treorchy, MerthyrTydfil, Ferndale and Mountain Ash.The farmland home of Pontypridd C.C. was transformed into anattractive parkland after the Great War, when hundreds ofsoldiers and servicemen from the town were killed. When the Warfinally ended, plans were set in motion for the creation of a WarMemorial for Pontypridd, and in keeping with their role asgenerous patrons to the town, Brown Lenox offered their farmlandat Ynysangharad. Public subscriptions and grants from the MinersWelfare Fund helped to finance the conversion of the farmlandinto a spacious park and public recreation ground. The WarMemorial was opened on August Bank Holiday Monday 1923, and overthe next few years a bowling green, rugby pitch, swimming pool,tennis courts and bandstand were added to the already existingcricket pitch and small pavilion.The Park proved to be a popular attraction, and it was nosurprise that when Glamorgan were looking to tap new supportduring the late 1920`s, they should choose the Ynysangharad Parkground. The attendances at the earliest county games were sogood, that in 1929 Pontypridd was allocated the prestigioustourist match with South Africa, plus two other county games withNottinghamshire and Leicestershire. Indeed, in the latter game,George Geary recorded the best ever bowling figures against theWelsh county, taking 10-18.As Glamorgan took county cricket into Monmouthshire andCarmarthenshire, Pontypridd`s allocation was limited to oneannual game. In recent years, this has been a limited overscontest, but in 1994 sponsorship from the Borough Council andlocal businessmen, saw South Africa return to Ynysanghard Park.During the previous winter, the old single-storey pavilion hadbeen replaced by a modern two-storey brick building, and althoughGlamorgan have to install temporary seating and other facilitiesat the Park, the games at Pontypridd have been well attended.For further information about the history of this, and othergrounds used by Glamorgan, you may be interested in purchasing”The Cricket Grounds of Glamorgan”, written by Andrew Hignell andpublished in 1985 by the Association of Cricket Statisticians andHistorians. For further details, please consult the A.C.S.homepage on CricInfo, send e-mail to [email protected] or write toPeter Wynne-Thomas at 3, Radcliffe Road, Nottingham.